Method and apparatus for mining vein material only

ABSTRACT

A method of mining vein or reef type mineral deposits in which a series of elongate holes are cut or drilled above and below or to each side of the mineral vein or reef. The holes may be contiguous to form a continuous slot or adjacent but spaced, a wedging tool being used to remove the intervening pillars when the slots have been cut to the desired depth, the mineral deposit is removed by bursting out or the like.

United States Patent 1191 Hilton 1451 Sept. 11, 1973 i METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR MINING VEIN MATERIAL ONLY [75] Inventor: Allan RichardHilton,

Westhoughton, England [73] Assignee: Mining Developments AG, Zug,

Switzerland [22] Filed: Dec. 23, 1970 [21] App]. No.: 101,082

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 30, 1969 Great Britain63,237/69 [52] US. Cl 299/15, 173/105, 175/416 [51] Int. Cl. EZlc 37/02,E21c 3/30 [58] Fieldof Search 2.99/10, 15, 18, 20,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 486,10] 1l/1892 Githens l75/4l6 X Storrs 299/15 3,167,354 1/1965 Mac'aul et aL... 299/18 X1,631,693 6/1927 Richey 175/416 X 395,105 12/1888 Wyckoff 175/416 X740,906 10/1903 Owen 175/389 X 923,513 6/1909 l-lardsocg 175/389 PrimaryExaminer-Ernest R. Purser Attorney-Holman & Stern 5 7] ABSTRACT A methodof mining vein or reef type mineral deposits in which a series ofelongate holes are cut or drilled above and below or to each side of themineral vein or reef. The holes may be contiguous to form a continuousslot or adjacent but spaced, a wedging tool being used to remove theintervening pillars when the slots have been cut to the desired depth,the mineral deposit is removed by bursting out or the like. v

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MINING VEINMATERIAL ONLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to amethod of mining and in particular to a method of winning reef or veintype mineral deposits.

PRIOR ART In the winning of reef or vein type mineral deposits,

is desired to handle is the gold ore. Thisis thereforelaborious,.extremely expensive and time wasting and it is an object ofthe present invention to obviate or mitigate this disadvantageouspractice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there isprovided a method of winning reef or vein type material depositscomprising the steps of forming by a transversely elongated cutting bitsubjected simultaneously to an axial percussive force and a limitedtransverse oscillatory movement, a series of substantially rectangularholes directly above and below and/or directly at each side of the reefor vein to provide slots around the mineral deposit to be extracted, andthereafter removing only the thus separated mineral deposit leavingbehind all waste elements.

Adjacent elongate holes may be drilled or cut contiguous, or adjacentholes may be spaced, with the intervening material being later removed.by convenient means.

The present invention provides also a means for effecting a miningoperation in accordance with the present invention, which meanscomprisesa drilling or cutting tool having a configuration which is substantiallyrectangular, trapezoidal elliptical or similar shape, and a prime moverfor operating the tool to effect a drilling or cutting action. The meansmay also include a wedging tool which may be manually operated orpercussively driven to remove intervening material between adjacentnon-contiguous holes.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.-

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a diagrammatic perspectiveview showing a method of winning a reef type mineral deposit inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate diagrammatically a second method; and

FIGS. 4 and 5, illustrate in perspective view suitable drilling orcutting tools.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION First an apparatus suitable forwinning a reef type unnecessarily vast quantities of material since allthat .15

mineral deposit in accordance with the present invenports a power pack11. including .a motor, a pump arrangement, a source of hydraulicliquid, various valves and controls. A boom 12 is supported on thc baseI], which boom 12 ispivotal by a hydraulic ram (not shown) about axisl3-between the horizontal position shown and a substantially verticalposition. The bootm, 12 at one end mounts a position-stationary guide 14for a drill rod 15 (see FIG. 4). The guide 14 is preferably .aconventional semi-rotary actuator through which the drill rod 15 canmove while being oscillated clue to the non-circular cross-section ofthe drill rod 15 cooperating with a complementary non-circular formationrotationally fast with the actuator rotor. The boom 12 at its other end,mounts an assembly 16 comprising a hammer for acting on the end of thedrill rod 15 and driven by a hydraulic motor. This assembly 16 issupported on a carriage 17 which via convenient ropes and pulleys 18,'19 and a double-acting hydraulic ram can be moved along the boom 12towards or away from the actuator 14. The drill rod 15 mounts by screwengagement at itsleading end a drill bit or cutting tool 20 (see FIG.4). The drill bit 20 is of substantially elliptical form in front viewand is provided with tungsten carbide inserts 21. The drill .bit 20 hasa tapered nose 22 on to which can fit a circular pilot. bit 23 alsoprovided with tungsten carbide inserts 24.

The pilot bit 23 creates a second face in advance of the main bit faceand eases the cutting burden of the tool. The pilot bit also ensuresaccurate drilling.

.In FIG. 4, the pilot bit 23 is shown centrally of the main drill bit 20while in FIG. 5 the pilot bit 23A is shown offset of the main drill bit20A.

It will, of course, be manifest that the pilot bit can be omittedcompletely if desired.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the method of winning a reef or vein 25 is todrill or cut a series of adjacent and contiguous elongate rectangularsection holes 26 to a predetermined depth directly above and below or oneither side of the reef or vein 25. The reef or vein 25 is thenextracted by conventional bursting out or simi-' lar means.

The drill or cutting is, of course, effected by the elliptical drill bit20 possibly with the assistance of the pilot bit 23) on the end of thedrill rod 15 which is subjected to the action of the hammer assembly 16and the oscillatory movement of drill rod 15. The degree of oscillationshould not exceed 229?.

The importance of the elongate hole, as opposed to a series of circularholes, is that a defined, straight clean line is established adjacent tothe ore or mineral. This ensures no contamination to the ore whenextracted by waste material belonging to the foot or hanging walls.Furthermore, the rectangular hole makes a clean slot without sides.

A second method of winning is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thisinvolves creating a similar series of rectangular elongate holes 27 butat fixed spaced intervals. The .material or pillars 28 left between theholes 27 is afterwards cut or extracted by suitable tools and actions toform the continuous slot .29.

A suitable tool for removing the material or pillars 28 is a wedgehammer 30 which is inserted in a hole 27 and then manually hammered orpreferably subjected to a powered percussive, non-rotary action by aconventional air hammer or similar prime mover. The hammer 30 will havehard metal inserts to perform the actual breaking of the pillars alongthe zone of spitting.

The advantage of this method is that a proportion, as high as 60 percentif the material cut to form the slot,

can be done on the free face principle. in this, a tool such as thewedge hammer 30 covering the full width of material 28 between the holes27 will chip away to produce the slot. Furthermore, the holes can be cutwithout difficulties of drill wander or slip (without provision of guidesleeves) due to pillar 28 being left between the holes.

Both the abovedescribed methods provide a means of winning ore ormineral by a selective system of extraction hence leaving behind allwaste elements.

It will be manifest that the abovedescribed methods of drilling orcutting earth strata may also be employed to cut out blocks or materialfor whatever purpose, e.g. sampling and in the accompanying claimsreferences to winning reef or vein type mineral deposits" should beconstrued broadly accordingly.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of winning reef or vein type mineral deposits comprising thesteps of forming by a transversely elongated cutting bit subjectedsimultaneously to an axial percussive force and a limited transverseoscillatory movement, a series of substantially rectangular holesdirectly above and below and/or directly at each side of the reef orvein to provide slots around the mineral deposit to be extracted toseparate the mineral deposits from the surrounding strata, andthereafter removing only the separated mineral deposits leaving behindall waste matter.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising the step of forming theseries of substantially rectangular holes adjacent and contiguous toeach other.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of forming theseries of substantially rectangular holes adjacent but spaced from eachother, and thereafter removing the intervening burden or materialremaining between the adjacent holes.

4. Apparatus for wining reef or vein type mineral deposits comprising abase, a drill rod carried by the base, a percussive unit for acting onone end of the drill rod to apply axial percussive forces thereto, atransversely oval or elliptical cutting bit secured to the other end ofthe drill rod, a semi-rotary actuator mounted on the base and throughwhich the drill rod extends and moves while being oscillated by theactuator, and means for advancing the percussive unit and hence thedrill rod and cutting bit relative to the base to cut in a facesubstantially rectangular holes.

1. A method of winning reef or vein type mineral deposits comprising thesteps of forming by a transversely elongated cutting bit subjectedsimultaneously to an axial percussive force and a limited transverseoscillatory movement, a series of substantially rectangular holesdirectly above and below and/or directly at each side of the reef orvein to provide slots around the mineral deposit to be extracted toseparate the mineral deposits from the surrounding strata, andthereafter removing only the separated mineral deposits leaving behindall waste matter.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising thestep of forming the series of substantially rectangular holes adjacentand contiguous to each other.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1,comprising the steps of forming the series of substantially rectangularholes adjacent but spaced from each other, and thereafter removing theintervening burden or material remaining between the adjacent holes. 4.Apparatus for wining reef or vein type mineral deposits comprising abase, a drill rod carried by the base, a percussive unit for acting onone end of the drill rod to apply axial percussive forces thereto, atransversely oval or elliptical cutting bit secured to the other end ofthe drill rod, a semi-rotary actuator mounted on the base and throughwhich the drill rod extends and moves while being oscillated by theactuator, and means for advancing the percussive unit and hence thedrill rod and cutting bit relative to the base to cut in a facesubstantially rectangular holes.